PAL Topic Guides

As soloist, master class teacher, and pianist of the world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio, Menahem Pressler can boast of four Grammy nominations, three honorary doctorates, more than 80 recordings, and lifetime achievement awards presented by France, Germany, and Israel. Former Pressler student William Brown traces the master's pianistic development through Rudiakov, Kestenberg, Vengerova, Casadesus, Petri, and Steuermann, blending techniques and traditions derived from Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and J. S. Bach. Brown presents Pressler's approach to performance and teaching, including technical exercises, principles of relaxation and total body involvement, and images to guide the pianist's creativity toward expressive interpretation. Insights from the author's own lessons, interviews with Pressler, and recollections of more than 100 Pressler students from the past 50 years are gathered in this text. Measure-by-measure lessons on 23 piano masterworks by, among others, Bach, Bartók, Debussy, and Ravel as well as transcriptions of Pressler's fingerings, hand redistributions, practicing guidelines, musical scores, and master class performances are included.

An essential handbook for the piano instructor. Covers theoretical, practical, and technical matters, as well as piano performance and basic keyboard skills for the young or adult beginner. Contains charts, glossaries, and bibliographies.

Teaching Piano in Groups provides a one-stop compendium of information related to all aspects of group piano teaching. Motivated by an ever-growing interest in this instructional method and its widespread mandatory inclusion in piano pedagogy curricula, Christopher Fisher highlights the provenviability and success of group piano teaching, and arms front-line group piano instructors with the necessary tools for practical implementation of a system of instruction in their own teaching.Contained within are: a comprehensive history of group piano teaching; accessible overviews of the most important theories and philosophies of group psychology and instruction; suggested group piano curricular competencies; practical implementation strategies; and thorough recommendations forcurricular materials, instructional technologies, and equipment. Teaching Piano in Groups also addresses specific considerations for pre-college teaching scenarios, the public school group piano classroom, and college-level group piano programs for both music major and non-music majors.Teaching Piano in Groups is accompanied by an extensive companion website, featuring a multi-format listing of resources as well as interviews with several group piano pedagogues.

The strict traditions of piano teaching have remained entrenched for generations. The dominant influence of Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), the first composer-pedagogue of the instrument, brought about an explosion of autocratic instruction and bizarre teaching systems, exemplified in the mind-numbing drills of Hanon's "The Virtuoso Pianist." These practices--considered absurd or abusive by many--persist today at all levels of piano education. This book critically examines two centuries of teaching methods and encourages instructors to do away with traditions that disconnect mental and creative skills.

The notion of the individual creator, a product in part of the Western romantic ideal, is now troubled by accounts and explanations of creativity as a social construct. While in collectivist cultures the assimilation (but not the denial) of individual authorship into the complexities of group production and benefit has been a feature, the notion of the lone individual creator has been persistent. Systems theories acknowledge the role of others, yet at heart these are still individual views of creativity - focusing on the creative individual drawing upon the work of others rather than recognizing the mutually constitutive elements of social interactions across time and space. Focusing on the domain of music, the approach taken in this book falls into three sections: investigations of the people, processes, products, and places of collaborative creativity in compositional thought and practice; explorations of the ways in which creative collaboration provides a means of crossing boundaries between disciplines such as music performance and musicology; and studies of the emergence of creative thought and practice in educational contexts including that of the composer and the classroom. The volume concludes with an extended chapter that reflects on the ways in which the studies reported advance understandings of creative thought and practice. The book provides new perspectives to our understandings of the role of collaborative thought and processes in creative work across the domain of music including: composition, musicology, performance, music education and music psychology.

    Winterreise is perhaps the greatest song cycle ever written. Franz Schubert set to music the evocative poetry of his contemporary, German lyricist Wilhelm Müller. It is a heart-rending portrayal of a winter journey full of misery and woe.     This striking and unique multimedia volume brings together the achievements of Schubert and Müller with new interpretations by present-day musicians, scholars, and a photographer. The volume includes:     o the complete German text of Wilhelm Müller's twenty-four poems     o a new English translation of the poems by Louise McClelland Urban     o a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer John Harbison     o an introductory essay by renowned Schubert scholar Susan Youens     o ninety-two stunning black and white photographs of a winter's journey by Katrin Talbot     o a compact-disc recording of the Winterreise song cycle performed by baritone Paul Rowe and pianist Martha Fischer.

Saint Lambert's Nouveau traité de l'accompagnement de clavecin, de l'orgue, et des autres instruments of 1707 supplements his earlier harpsichord treatise, Les Principes du clavecin of 1702. The Nouveau traitéis a method book specifically designed for the accompanist rather than the solo performer. It offers practical suggestions to help the accompanist play the correct harmony without having to read all the notated parts at the same time. Saint Lambert discusses accompanying from unfigured and partly figured basses, and his was one of the first attempts to codify bass progressions into specific formulas, for which he assigns appropriate harmonies. He describes possible departures from the usual rules of accompaniment and examines performance techniques used by "tasteful" accompanists in order to create not merely a correct but an artistic accompaniment. John Powell presents Saint Lambert's text in a readable English translation with musical examples in modern notation. He compares Saint Lambert's text in a readable English translation with musical examples in modern notation. He compares Saint Lambert's concepts of realization with those of contemporaneous sources and traces the influence of this treatise on later authors.

"Harriet Cavalli has been a great influence on me and my work with music. She understands dance accompaniment better than anyone and explains how and why in her book."-- Mark Morris, artistic director, Mark Morris Dance Group "An insightful and detailed guide that will help novice dance musicians to navigate the demanding and often unstated expectations of the dance class, providing an invaluable resource for both dance teachers and dance musicians."-- Kathryn Daniels, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle "All dance accompanists and teachers must own this publication."-- Ruth C. Petrinovic, consultant, Alabama Ballet School, Birmingham Harriet Cavalli, internationally recognized as one of the most talented and experienced specialists in the art of music for dancers and dance teachers, presents here the definitive book on accompaniment, as well as her personal--often humorous--look behind the scenes at the world of dance. The text is enhanced by diagrams and 83 complete musical examples, providing a wealth of repertoire choices. One of the most comprehensive books to acknowledge the intimate link between music and ballet technique, Dance and Music emphasizes the necessity of effective communication between dance teachers and their accompanists. Cavalli lays the groundwork with descriptions of most musical forms used in the dance classroom and stresses the need for teachers to make music a living part of their classes. For the inexperienced accompanist, she describes the pianistic demands of the profession, as well as the qualities of dance steps and movements that will facilitate the identification of suitable music. She also discusses the kinds of dance classes an accompanist may work in and offers a lengthy section on the functions of a pianist in a dance company. With forty years in the field, and firsthand knowledge of what dancing feels like and how to re-create that feeling, Cavalli invites musicians to move gracefully into the special, sometimes intimidating world of dance accompaniment. Harriet Cavalli is the company pianist for Martin Schläpfer's BallettMainz at the Mainz State Theater in Germany. She has worked for most of the major dance institutions in New York, such as the Joffrey and Harkness Ballets and American Ballet Theater, and with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, First Chamber Dance Company in Seattle, Zurich Opera Ballet, Basel Ballet, and Bern Ballet. In addition, she has studied ballet with Perry Brunson, Maria Swoboda, Flemming Halby, Donna Silva, and Martin Schläpfer.

An alluring exploration of the people and the legendary craftsmanship behind a single Steinway piano Like no other instrument, a grand piano melds engineering feats with the magical sounds of great music: the thunder of a full-throated bass, the bright, delicate trill of the upper treble. Alone among the big piano companies, Steinway still crafts all of its pianos largely by hand, imbuing each one with the promise and burden of its brand. In this captivating narrative, James Barron of The New York Times tells the story of one Steinway piano, from raw lumber to finished instrument. Barron follows that brand-new piano--known by its number, K0862--on its eleven-month journey through the Steinway factory, where time-honored manufacturing methods vie with modern-day industrial efficiency. He looks over the shoulders of men and women--some second- and third-generation employees, some recently arrived immigrants--who transform wood and steel into a concert grand. Together, they carry on the traditions begun more than 150 years ago by the immigrants who founded Steinway & Sons--a family that soared to prominence in the music world and, for a while, in New York City's political and economic life. Barron also explores the art and science of developing a piano's timbre and character before its first performance, when the essential question will be answered: Does K0862 live up to the Steinway legend? From start to finish, Piano will charm and enlighten music lovers.

Why does a piano sound like a piano? A similar question can be asked of virtually all musical instruments. A particular note-such as middle C-can be produced by a piano, a violin, a clarinet, and many other instruments, yet it is easy for even a musically untrained listener to distinguishbetween these different instruments. A central quest in the study of musical instruments is to understand why the sound of the "same" note depends greatly on the instrument, and to elucidate which aspects of an instrument are most critical in producing the musical tones characteristic of theinstrument. The primary goal of this book is to investigate these questions for the piano. The explanations in this book use a minimum of mathematics, and are intended for anyone who is interested in music and musical instruments. At the same time, there are many insights relating physics and thepiano that will likely be interesting and perhaps surprising for many physicists.

If you have a note that has dropped in pitch, do you have to call in the tuner? A stuck key? Sympathetic rattle? Missing bridles? A broken hammer shank? An unglued ivory? The answer, in each case, is no: you can make all of these repairs yourself! This is the clearest and most complete book available for beginning tuners and amateur pianists. It explains all the basic processes practically and with model clarity. A non-musician can use this book without too much difficulty. You will learn how upright, grand, and square actions work, and how to take care of the smallest repairs — repairing stuck keys, poorly adjusted bottoms and capstans, crowded back checks, felts and leather on the hammers, hammer stems; softening damper and hammer felts; installing new bridles; eliminating "sympathetic rattle"; all with a minimum of tools and training. You will learn a professional method of tuning based on slightly flattened fifths, where only the octave and the upward fifth intervals are used. This is one of the easiest systems to learn, one capable of a great deal of control, and one perfectly suited to adjusting one or two keys. It is a tested method especially right for amateurs working without a teacher, and a method that trains the ear for other recommended systems. The author also explains "beats," the theory of the tempered scale, and useful experiments you can make with harmonic phenomena. If you want to experiment with tuning a piano, there is no better book to start with. It will help performers and teachers make occasional repairs and learn the structure and scale of the piano. Those who want to know how pianos work will find this book both clear and useful.

Duke Ellington is widely held to be the greatest jazz composer and one of the most significant cultural icons of the twentieth century. This comprehensive and accessible Companion is the first collection of essays to survey, in depth, Ellington's career, music, and place in popular culture. An international cast of authors includes renowned scholars, critics, composers, and jazz musicians. Organized in three parts, the Companion first sets Ellington's life and work in context, providing new information about his formative years, method of composing, interactions with other musicians, and activities abroad; its second part gives a complete artistic biography of Ellington; and the final section is a series of specific musical studies, including chapters on Ellington and song-writing, the jazz piano, descriptive music, and the blues. Featuring a chronology of the composer's life and major recordings, this book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Ellington's enduring artistic legacy.

The vibrant world of jazz may be viewed from many angles, from social and cultural history to music analysis, from economics to ethnography. It is challenging and exciting territory. This volume of nineteen specially commissioned essays offers informed and accessible guidance to the challenge, taking the reader through a series of five basic subject areas--locating jazz historically and geographically; defining jazz as musical and cultural practice; jazz in performance; the uses of jazz for audiences, markets, education and for other art forms; and the study of jazz.

Bill Evans (1929-1980) is universally acknowledged as one of the most influential of all jazz pianists. Classically trained on flute, violin, and piano, Evans chose jazz - specifically the jazz piano trio - as his medium. This biography tells Evan's story. Based on research and conversations with many of Evan's friends and colleagues, as well as Pettinger's firsthand memories of performances at the Village Vanguard in New York and Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, it describes the life, the musicmaking and the legacy of this major American jazz artist. The author asseses Evan's recordings and analyzes his technique, tone production, approach to group playing, and compositional methods. With a full discography and dozens of photographs, the volume should be welcomed by jazz fans and general readers alike.

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) was one of jazz's greatest and most enigmatic figures. As a composer, pianist, and bandleader, Monk both extended the piano tradition known as Harlem stride and was at the center of modern jazz's creation during the 1940s, setting the stage for the experimentalism of the 1960s and '70s. This pathbreaking study combines cultural theory, biography, and musical analysis to shed new light on Monk's music and on the jazz canon itself. Gabriel Solis shows how the work of this stubbornly nonconformist composer emerged from the jazz world's fringes to find a central place in its canon. Solis reaches well beyond the usual life-and-times biography to address larger issues in jazz scholarship--ethnography and the role of memory in history's construction. He considers how Monk's stature has grown, from the narrowly focused wing of the avant-garde in the 1960s and '70s to the present, where he is claimed as an influence by musicians of all kinds. He looks at the ways musical lineages are created in the jazz world and, in the process, addresses the question of how musicians use performance itself to maintain, interpret, and debate the history of the musical tradition we call jazz.

Hailed by corporate, philanthropic, and governmental organizations as a metaphor for democratic interaction and business dynamics, contemporary jazz culture has a story to tell about the relationship between political economy and social practice in the era of neoliberal capitalism. The Jazz Bubble approaches the emergence of the neoclassical jazz aesthetic since the 1980s as a powerful, if unexpected, point of departure for a wide-ranging investigation of important social trends during this period, extending from the effects of financialization in the music industry to the structural upheaval created by urban redevelopment in major American cities. Dale Chapman draws from political and critical theory, oral history, and the public and trade press, making this a persuasive and compelling work for scholars across music, industry, and cultural studies.

Guide to the Pianist's Repertoirecontinues to be the go-to source for piano performers, teachers, and students. Newly updated and expanded with over 250 new composers, this incomparable resource expertly guides readers to solo piano literature. What did a given composer write? What interesting work have I never heard of? How difficult is it? What are its special musical features? How can I reach the publisher? It's all here. Featuring information for more than 2,000 composers, the fourth edition includes enhanced indexes. The new "Hinson" will be an indispensable guide for many years to come.

Techniques on how to gain greater fluidity of movement while playing to improve the quality of the experience are offered in this manual for serious piano players. This book encourages musicians to develop a broader understanding of the involvement of the entire body in playing--and the strains playing places on the body--by focusing on body mapping to increase awareness of the body's function, size, and structure. Ways in which piano, organ, harpsichord, clavichord, and digital keyboard players can eliminate or prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and other debilitating conditions without traditional medical treatments are also explored.